The Outsider
by rubylucasridinghoodmeghanory
Summary: After the latest episode, I had to write something, so this is what I wish would happen after the end of the episode even though I know it won't. RedBeauty of course :)


"**Belle, this is really not your concern."**

"He attacked me; it most definitely is my concern." Belle said with frustration. "How long are you going to keep me in the dark, Rumple?"

"As long as it takes," he said. "Belle, I just don't feel comfortable sharing certain aspects of my past with you."

"You can trust me; I know you don't think you can trust anyone, but you can trust _me_!" she insisted, tears welling up in her eyes. "I really thought you had stopped lying to me, but you're still the same old coward."

"Belle," he called out desperately as she brushed past him, his jacket sliding onto the ground.

**Ruby heard the door slam shut and stood up from behind the counter, **ready to help whoever had just arrived. To her pleasure, it was Belle, who plopped herself aggressively onto a stool and put her head in her hands, her elbows propped on the bar.

"Long day? How about a cup of cocoa?" she said with a smile.

"Do you have anything stronger?" asked Belle as she finally revealed her face; her eyes were filled with stress.

"Oh, so a _really_ long day," Ruby grabbed a shot glass. "Can I see an ID please?" She teased with a wink.

"Not now, Ruby … please," Belle added.

"Fine, but you don't have to try so hard not to smile," Ruby batted her eyelashes flirtatiously and grinned, and Belle's lips finally curved upwards into that beautiful smirk she loved so much. "So what happened that's got you so depressed?" she asked while pouring Belle her drink.

"It's Rumple." _Of course it is_, thought Ruby. _Isn't it always?_ "He still isn't being honest with me." _Surprise, surprise._ "And considering I was almost killed for him, you would think he would open up just a little bit."

"What?! You were almost killed?! When did – " Ruby lowered her voice. "When did this happen?!" she hissed.

"An hour ago – I went into the library early this morning, and there was a pirate there with one hand. Rumple said his name was Hook, and dear old Captain Hook wants revenge on the Dark One, so he tried to kill me."

Ruby's heart beat painfully in her chest. _What are you doing, Belle? You're breaking your own heart! You're killing yourself! He's not going to change for you, so stop! Just stop trying! _"So I take it Gold – I mean Rumpelstiltskin – he killed this pirate?"

"Hook ran off before he arrived."

Ruby was almost sure she could actually feel her protective nature perk up in a strange sense of excitement. "Belle, you do realize you're in danger."

"Yeah, thanks for the warning, Ruby. Maybe I could defend myself better if Rumple would tell me what I need to know," she said, doing a poor job of hiding her exasperation.

"Belle," Ruby said sadly, "he's not going to tell you the truth."

"You don't know that!"

"And you do?" Ruby retorted.

"I have hope." She paused. "If I give up, then Rumpelstiltskin will revert back to his old self. … He really is changing." Ruby knew Belle was stretching the truth, and she could tell Belle knew it too but was hoping Ruby wouldn't notice.

"Belle," Ruby looked deep into her eyes, begging her to hear her desperation, "how long are you going to keep breaking your own heart? … I can't watch you do this to yourself anymore."

"Then you must not be seeing the full picture," she said bluntly. "I'm going to go try and help Rumple whether you like it or not."

"Please, Belle, I am begging you. Don't do this."

Belle frowned. "You know: I really thought I could come to you, Ruby. I thought you were my friend, but you don't care about me at all. If you did, then you would accept that I love Rumpelstiltskin, and there is _nothing_ that will keep me from fighting for him."

"I'm just trying to watch out for you," Ruby said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"You know what, Ruby? Maybe I don't need you to look out for me." And she slammed a five on the table and walked out, leaving Ruby behind wondering which of them was right.

**The rest of the day Ruby spent trying to act as normal as possible while constantly worrying about Belle.**

As soon as her shift was over, she threw on her leather jacket and began walking hurriedly to Mr. Gold's shop.

She was halfway there when she heard Belle's voice call out to her. "Ruby?" She turned around sharply. Belle was standing across the street, her hair rustling slightly in the wind as she crossed the empty road to meet Ruby. "What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to talk to you actually. What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to talk to you. … Rumple found a way to cross the town line. There's something he has to find, and I'm going with him to say goodbye." Belle paused for a moment, as if she expected Ruby to stop her.

"Well, I – I hope he finds it."

"Really?" Belle raised an eyebrow.

"Really," Ruby nodded, and Belle practically jumped on her, wrapping her arms tightly around Ruby's waist. Ruby pulled Belle closer, wishing she could hold her in her arms forever, breathe in her scent until she could no longer breathe.

But it was over too fast. "Listen, if you need a place to stay, I've got room – now that I've moved out of Granny's."

"Thank you, but you don't have to do that."

"Sure I do," said Ruby. _Because I love you._ "Because that's what friends do."

Belle gave her a small smile, as if she was slightly disappointed. "I'd – I'd better go." She turned away slowly.

"Belle," her head swiveled back as she smirked, "just – just be careful."

She nodded, and the two women parted ways.

**It was three in the morning when the phone rang.** Ruby slumped across her pillow and picked it up. "Hello?" she said groggily.

"Ruby? Oh thank God."

"Emma?" Ruby sat up slowly. "What's going on?"

"Something's – something's happened," her voice was very grim.

"What do you mean?" She flicked on the lights and rubbed her eyes.

"I don't even know. Please just get your ass to the sheriff's station." There was a click on the other end.

Ruby rolled out of bed slowly and grabbed a dirty pair of jeans. She left her red spaghetti strap tank top on, found her car keys and raced out the door.

When Ruby pulled up to the station, her hands started to feel like ice, and she took a deep breath to try and calm herself, unsure of what was coming. There was a knock on the passenger window, and Ruby rolled it down to reveal David, who said, "Ruby, you need to hurry."

She yanked her keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. "David, what's going on?" He held open the door for her and followed her inside. "We're not sure. Rumpelstiltskin showed up an hour ago – with that new girl – "

" – Belle," said Ruby angrily.

"Yes, Belle," David grabbed the door handle that led to the jail cells and Emma's office and tugged it open. Ruby was beginning to feel light-headed. They turned the corner as David said, "She's – well – she's been shot."

Ruby's head turned from him in slow motion. Belle was lying on a cot in the cell, clearly unconscious; Dr. Whale was beside her, cautiously inspecting her shoulder; Emma and Mary Margaret were leaning against a desk; Emma was biting her nails, and Mary Margaret had closed her eyes.

Ruby felt her knees give out, but David grabbed her arm and held her up. "She's not … dead, is she?" Ruby whispered.

"No," said Dr. Whale as they all turned to look at her. "Whoever shot her either wasn't looking to kill or is a poor shot."

Ruby stepped forward slowly, coming to a stop right next to Belle's bed. Blood caked her fingernails and soaked through her black sweater at the shoulder.

"Where is he?" Ruby asked icily, not needing to say who she was referring to.

"He took off a few minutes after we got here," said Emma. "He didn't say a thing."

"He just – left her?" Despite all the things Ruby thought Rumpelstiltskin was capable of, this would never have been one of them. "So why isn't anybody looking for him?!" she yelled, tears stinging her eyes, begging to be released.

"Ruby, we don't know what happened out there," Mary Margaret said softly.

"She loves him!" Ruby shouted, imprinting looks of shock on the other's faces. "So I don't care if I have to beat his ass into the ground with his own fucking cane! Someone bring Belle the _only_ thing she loves!" The tears were coming now; she could feel them, but she pushed them away. She would not cry; she had to be strong.

"What's – what's happening?" A soft voice whispered from behind her; Ruby's shouts had woken Belle. She turned around and crouched beside her, all anger vanishing on the spot as a few tears spilled over her eyelids.

"Belle? Belle, honey, can you hear me?" she whispered, bravely brushing her fingers over Belle's cheek.

Very slowly, Belle opened her eyes, and Ruby watched them gradually become more and more lost until finally, she whispered in a nervous voice, "Who – who are you?"

"It's – it's me. Ruby," she said quietly, praying this did not mean what she thought it meant.

"Do I – do I know you?" Belle asked, a curious look in her eyes as Ruby withdrew her hand and stood up slowly, her entire body aching with the effort of trying not to cry.

Dr. Whale brushed past her and hit Belle over the head with a candlestick. "Hey!" Emma and David shouted as Belle passed out again.

"I need to get that bullet out of her, and she's no use conscious at the moment!" he said defensively. "In case you can't tell, she has no idea who she – "

But he was cut off as Ruby punched him so hard across the face that he flew into the jail cell bars and crumpled to the floor in a heap as Ruby began to kick him again and again.

_It's __**your**__ fault. This is __**all your fault**__!_

Whale grunted in pain as the toe of Ruby's boot found his gut.

_You should __**never**__ have let her go!_

"Ruby!"

_She doesn't remember __**anything**__ …_

Kick!

"Ruby!"

"Ruby, stop!"

_... Because __**you**__ – __**let**__ – __**her**__ – go – with – __**him**__!_

Whale doubled over, groaning and clutching his stomach as Ruby kicked him four more times.

"Ruby … stop," Mary Margaret's hand closed gently around her wrist, and Ruby began to come back to herself. David and Emma moved to help Dr. Whale up, and Mary Margaret was staring at her with tears falling down her cheeks.

Ruby was gasping for breath, fighting her own tears as hard as she could, willing them to stop before she lost control completely, but they broke through. Gut-wrenching sobs coursed through her body, and Ruby bent over, clutching her knees as her panicked crying continued. Her fingernails dug deep into the palms of her hands; her shoulders shook with every shudder; her heart ached worse than anything that was happening to her body.

Mary Margaret pulled her away and out of the cell before cautiously wrapping her arms around Ruby. "I love her," she choked out, her voice muffled in Mary Margaret's shoulder. David and Emma looked up in surprise, but Mary Margaret said, "I know," in a soft, reassuring voice.

Ruby pulled away and turned to look back at Belle – the woman she _loved_, the woman who no longer remembered who Ruby was or even who she, herself, was. "David, Emma, why don't we go and get Dr. Whale in the car and we can take him and Belle to the hospital?" suggested Mary Margaret, although Ruby knew she was just trying to give Ruby a few moments of alone time with Belle.

"Of course," said David.

"Yeah, sure," Emma agreed, a little less eagerly than David, and the four of them hobbled out, leaving Ruby free to run to Belle's side and let her guard down.

Part of her felt insane and part of her felt disappointed that she never was brave enough to do this while Belle would be able to remember it.

Ruby lightly brushed the hair off her forehead and let her fingers linger over Belle's cheek. "Belle?" she whispered. "Belle, I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if there's a part of you locked away in there that might remember me. … Actually, I'm kind of counting on that," Ruby smirked and wiped a tear from her cheek as she bent a bit closer.

"Belle, from the moment I met you – oh shit – " Ruby mumbled off. "From – from the moment I met you – you remember that day, right? You had about seven ice teas," Ruby laughed quietly. "I remember thinking I had never seen anybody so perfect. … And I remember thinking I had to have you or I'd die." She took a long pause. "Belle, I have watched that _monster_ build up your hope only to crush it again, and I have watched you continue to fight for him, and it only made me love you more. Every time he broke your heart, he broke mine, but every time you fought back, it gave me courage. … But I can't – " Ruby's voice cracked slightly. "I can't do this anymore. … I love you, Belle. … I always will. … It doesn't matter if you remember me or not. … I _will_ be here for you, and I _will_ take care of you, and I _will_ protect you … and I will _love_ you for the rest of my life. … But I _wish_ – I wish more than anything in the world – that you could love me too. … And if you can't … then I have to stop doing this to myself – and to you."

Tears trickled from her eyes, travelling down her eyelids, nose and cheeks as she laid her head on Belle's stomach, squeezing her hand and burying her face in Belle's sweater, breathing in her beautiful scent and feeling the cool touch of her skin.

"Ruby?" Mary Margaret squeezed her shoulder; Ruby hadn't even heard her approach. "Ruby, it's time to go," she said sadly.

"Can I have one more minute to – to say goodbye?"

"Of course you can, but try to hurry, okay?" Mary Margaret asked kindly. "Dr. Whale said the wound could get infected very quickly."

Ruby nodded, still gazing into Belle's closed eyes. "Just one minute, I promise."

She barely felt Mary Margaret's hand leave her shoulder. When Ruby was sure she was alone, she took a deep breath and cautiously leaned over Belle, her hands shaking violently. "Please," she whispered. "Please come back to me."

Ruby leaned in very slowly, closed her eyes and brushed her lips lightly against Belle's. It was nowhere near what she had imagined, and it had only lasted for a second when a sudden white light flew out in all directions, knocking her back slightly.

Ruby heard Belle catch her breath, and her eyes flew open to see Belle staring at her; hope burst through her heart like a fire.

"Belle?" she whispered. A light flooded back into Belle's eyes, and her right hand slowly came up to touch Ruby's cheek. "Do you know who I am?"

There was a long pause as Belle slowly pulled Ruby down so their foreheads were touching, and she closed her eyes and smiled as she said softly, "I – I remember. … I – I – I love you."

"What?"

"I love you," Belle's eyes opened, and Ruby found herself lost in the deep ocean blue.

"When – how – "

"Ruby, you broke the curse with _true love's kiss_."

Ruby was still not wrapping her head around it. "So you – you really do love me?" Her mouth split into a wide smile.

"I really do. … I love you," she repeated to prove her point.

"You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that." Belle closed the gap between them before Ruby could even catch her breath.

This time, it was everything Ruby had even imagined – fireworks erupted and sparks flew and every cliché only pulled them closer together.

"Ruby, we have to go – oh," David stopped abruptly behind them, scratching his neck awkwardly. "What – what happened?"

"She broke the curse." Belle said, staring deep into Ruby's eyes, causing pink tinges to appear on her cheeks.

"True love's kiss," Ruby whispered as she pulled herself away from Belle's eyes to look at David, who looked completely bewildered.

"I thought you loved Rumpelstiltskin?"

Belle sat up, leaning her head on Ruby's shoulder and reaching for her hand. "I thought I did too. But I didn't remember because Rumpelstiltskin kissed me, did I?" Their fingers intertwined. "I remember because _Ruby_ kissed me."

"Well, I'm glad you're back," David smirked. "Come on; let's get you to the hospital."

Ruby helped Belle stand, making sure to keep a firm grip on her warm hand, and somewhere deep inside, Ruby promised that she would never let it go again.

**Okay, so I had a whole bunch of finals studying to do this week and I have finals tomorrow and the day after, but after that I will be back again with more chapters for my other two RedBeauty/ReBelle stories. But after the last episode, how could I not write something?**


End file.
